Liberal Bloggers Turn on Barack Obama

Left-wing bloggers, who are a potent force in the Democratic party, are furious with Barack Obama for saying over the weekend that Congress will vote to fund the troops without a timeline for withdrawal if President Bush vetoes the current version of the bill. Obama said that no lawmaker, "wants to play chicken with our troops."

Markos Moulitsas of the influential Daily Kos Web log writes: "What a ridiculous thing to say. Not only is it bad policy, not only is it bad politics, it's also a terrible negotiating approach. Instead of threatening Bush with even more restrictions and daring him to veto funding for the troops out of pique, Barack just surrendered to him."

And Brad Friedman of The Brad Blog says: "If we ever need to negotiate for anything, remind us to not call on Obama to represent us."

Attorney Firings

The controversy over the firings of those U.S. attorneys generated 45 minutes of coverage on the broadcast networks' evening news programs during the week of March 12th through 16th, according to the Tyndall Report, which monitors news coverage.

But Vanderbilt University reports that in 1993, when the Clinton administration moved to fire all 93 U.S. attorneys, two of the networks didn't cover it at all, and the third, NBC, gave it 20 seconds despite Republican complaints and unheeded demands for hearings.

Another parallel concerns White House involvement. Then-White House spokesman George Stephanopoulos said Attorney General Janet Reno "consulted with the White House" on the firings, which one might expect, but which has made news now that it's the Bush White House being consulted.

Holocaust Dropped

A British government study says some primary and secondary teachers are dropping lessons about the Holocaust from their history classes out of fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial.

The teachers worry Muslims might express anti-Semitic and anti-Israel reactions in class. Some teachers also are excluding references to the 11th century crusades in which Christians fought Muslim armies — because those lessons contradict what is often taught in mosques.

No Assignments, No Tests

Meanwhile there is a school is the Seattle area where no one has to worry about the sensitivities of the students, because there are no assignments, no tests, and no formal classes.

The Seattle Times reports The Clearwater School lets students do whatever they want — study anything or nothing — and allows them come and go as they please. It is a throwback to the sixties and seventies philosophy of "free" or "Democratic" schools.

But even harsh critics of public education say the school is too radical for them. And what do parents pay for this non-teaching, non-testing education? More than $5,500 per year.